2 Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; should it sprout, it would yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.
And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah.
I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down out of heaven: if any one shall have eaten of this bread he shall live for ever; but the bread withal which I shall give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore contended among themselves, saying, How can he give us this flesh to eat? Jesus therefore said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Unless ye shall have eaten the flesh of the Son of man, and drunk his blood, ye have no life in yourselves. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up at the last day: for my flesh is truly food and my blood is truly drink. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me and I live on account of the Father, *he* also who eats me shall live also on account of me. This is the bread which has come down out of heaven. Not as the fathers ate and died: he that eats this bread shall live for ever.
For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water.
Ephraim feedeth on wind, and pursueth after the east wind: all day long he multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.
but in vain do they worship me, teaching [as] teachings commandments of men.
And having called again the crowd, he said to them, Hear me, all [of you], and understand:
And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he longed to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating; and no one gave to him.
But Israel, pursuing after a law of righteousness, has not attained to [that] law.
For I bear them witness that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own [righteousness], have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
Though *I* have [my] trust even in flesh; if any other think to trust in flesh, *I* rather: as to circumcision, [I received it] the eighth day; of [the] race of Israel, of [the] tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews; as to [the] law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, persecuting the assembly; as to righteousness which [is] in [the] law, found blameless; but what things were gain to me these I counted, on account of Christ, loss.
Be not carried away with various and strange doctrines; for [it is] good that the heart be confirmed with grace, not meats; those who have walked in which have not been profited by [them].
And it shall come to pass, if ye hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Come, ye sons, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise [thee] with joyful lips.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from fear of evil.
And now, sons, hearken unto me, and blessed are they that keep my ways:
Come, eat ye of my bread, and drink of the wine that I have mingled.
And he said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and do what is right in his eyes, and incline thine ears to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the complaints upon thee that I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah who healeth thee.
If ye be willing and hearken, ye shall eat the good of the land;
And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
-- They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance; they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a ùgod: they fall down, yea, they worship.
Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock [whence] ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit [whence] ye were digged.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 55
Commentary on Isaiah 55 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 55
As we had much of Christ in the 53rd chapter, and much of the church of Christ in the 54th chapter, so in this chapter we have much of the covenant of grace made with us in Christ. The "sure mercies of David,' which are promised here (v. 3), are applied by the apostle to the benefits which flow to us from the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:34), which may serve as a key to this chapter; not but that it was intended for the comfort of the people of God that lived then, especially of the captives in Babylon, and others of the dispersed of Israel; but unto us was this gospel preached as well as unto them, and much more clearly and fully in the New Testament. Here is,
Isa 55:1-5
Here,
Isa 55:6-13
We have here a further account of that covenant of grace which is made with us in Jesus Christ, both what is required and what is promised in the covenant, and of those considerations that are sufficient abundantly to confirm our believing compliance with and reliance on that covenant. This gracious discovery of God's good-will to the children of men is not to be confined either to the Jew or to the Gentile, to the Old Testament or to the New, much less to the captives in Babylon. No, both the precepts and the promises are here given to all, to every one that thirsts after happiness, v. 1. And who does not? Hear this, and live.